The Postman from Space (The Postman from Space #1)

The drawings are so masterful that they become a sort of understated joke. The more marvels Bob sees, the more desperate he is to end this day of mishaps. But even Bob has to pause, a few pages from the end, and admire the sheer beauty of the world outside his window.

The worlds created here are delightfully unusual, transporting readers to planets full of intriguing and inquisitive inhabitants. Each individual vignette contains interesting visual details to be explored on second readings. An early elementary tale fit for all ages that serves as a reminder that trying something new can bring delightful and unexpected results.

Bob is a mail carrier who delivers packages between planets. Despite the interplanetary spin, it's an ordinary job with routine duties. But then there's a change of plans and Bob gets a new route every day. Though he's anxious, he pulls up his space bootstraps, delivering a package in rain and mud, navigating an asteroid belt and space junk, fleeing a pack of desert space dogs on his hovercraft, taking orders from a demanding customer (shout-out to The Little Prince), and bargaining with pesky aliens meddling with his ship. Upon his return, Bob realizes that it wasn't so bad—in fact, the old cactus lady on the messy planet makes the best cookies in the galaxy. And his universe is a surprisingly beautiful place. Bob's boss offers him the option to return to his old route, but he opts for a life of unexpected adventures. Perreault's graphic layout alternates between large single frames and smaller multiple panels to portray narrative action, emotion, and panoramic vistas of Bob's universe. Each planet is rendered in a handsome palette of muted browns, oranges, greens, blues, and grays. This award-winning graphic novel was originally published in French in Montreal; hopefully the sequel will be translated into English soon—Bob delivers a mysterious letter with a new trainee. VERDICT A visual feast to remind kids that new experiences and challenges create memories that last a lifetime.—Rita Christensen, Orem Public Library, UT

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

★ "Drawn 'with a deft hand that could convey the speed of hurdling space projectiles, ' Guillaume Perreault's The Postman from Space is the jocular story of Bob, a spacial postman who is really quite ordinary. . . . Perreault makes excellent use of blank space to keep his illustrations uncluttered, his panels drawn in a thin, uneven black line with many pages free of panels altogether. He makes the art all the more dynamic by visually differentiating Bob's new delivery stops with individual color palettes. The Postman from Space is an imaginative graphic novel perfect for both solo and shared reading experiences."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

"Light and spirited, the book dazzles, especially in its final pages, which carry a warm optimism about life that's cheery and instructive. The Postman from Space is a brilliant, funny, and heartwarming tale."—Foreword Reviews